Design Director- Toys #2347

Gilder Search Group; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Gilder Search Group is seeking a Director of Design & Development to own the execution engine behind our toy line, leading a team of designers from concept to retail-ready product in three to six months.

This role blends creative leadership with operational drive, setting the bar for design excellence, protecting brand authenticity, and accelerating workflows to deliver fast, high-quality licensed products to market.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in product design and development for toys and licensed consumer products.
• 3+ years leading and developing design teams.
• Hands-on fluency across the design process.
• Working knowledge of toy safety and quality standards.
• Experience collaborating with overseas factories on tooling, sampling, and production.
• Familiarity with licensed IP and licensor approval processes.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• A portfolio that shows the range and quality of your work.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of designers, fostering a culture of elite talent, craftsmanship, and professional pride.
• Direct, and personally participate in, the full product design process, reviewing and approving work at each stage.
• Translate licensed brands into physical products that capture each brand's authenticity and deliver on our promise of fast, focused, fun.
• Drive an accelerated design and development schedule, bringing products from concept to market in three to six months.
• Continuously improve design workflows, processes, and tools to support increasing speed and efficiency.
• Partner with cross-functional teams and overseas manufacturers to ensure products meet, or beat, target cost, achieve safety and quality standards, and satisfy retail requirements.
• Maintain expert-level knowledge of the toy landscape — what's on shelf, competing products, pricing, and emerging trends across relevant categories.

Skills

Team leadership

Product design

Licensed IP

Overseas collaboration

Toy safety

Communication

Portfolio

Design systems

Job description

We turn beloved licensed brands into toys that fly off the shelf. As Director of Design & Development, you'll own the execution engine behind our product line, leading a team of talented designers from concept to retail-ready product in three to six months.

This role blends creative leadership and operational drive. You'll set the bar for design excellence, protect the authenticity of the brands we're entrusted with, and relentlessly sharpen the process that gets great products to market at speed. If you love toys, thrive under an accelerated schedule, and get energy from building and mentoring an elite team, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

Lead the team

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of designers, fostering a culture of elite talent, craftsmanship, and professional pride.
• Direct, and personally participate in, the full product design process, reviewing and approving work at each stage.

Bring brands to life

• Translate licensed brands into physical products that capture each brand's authenticity and deliver on our promise of fast, focused, fun.
• Present product concepts and creative strategies to executive leadership, licensors, and other key stakeholders.

Move fast

• Drive an accelerated design and development schedule, bringing products from concept to market in three to six months.
• Continuously improve design workflows, processes, and tools to support increasing speed and efficiency.

Deliver products that work, commercially and physically

• Partner with cross-functional teams and overseas manufacturers to ensure products meet, or beat, target cost, achieve safety and quality standards, and satisfy retail requirements.
• Maintain expert-level knowledge of the toy landscape — what's on shelf, competing products, pricing, and emerging trends across relevant categories.

What You Bring

• 8+ years in product design and development for toys and licensed consumer products.
• 3+ years leading and developing design teams, with a track record of raising the bar on talent and output.
• Demonstrated success taking products from concept through overseas manufacturing to retail shelves on aggressive timelines.
• Hands-on fluency across the design process.
• Working knowledge of toy safety and quality standards.
• Experience collaborating with overseas factories on tooling, sampling, and production.
• Familiarity with licensed IP and the licensor approval process, including presenting to and managing brand partners.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• A portfolio that shows the range and quality of your work.
• Experience scaling design operations and/or introducing new tools/workflows that measurably improved speed.

What Success Looks Like

Out of the gate, you'll show an ability to get up to speed and lead a motivated, high-performing design team.